Star Fox: Cerinia Has Fallen
by Mystrial
Summary: Fan made idea about Krystal's origins, leading up to the events of how she obtained her staff, what friends she had as she was growing up, what her planet was like and, of course, the tragic end of it all...
1. Chapter 1

StarFox: Cerinia Has Fallen

by Dakota West

Disclaimer: This is a fan made story chronicling the character known as Krystal from Nintendo's popular video game series, StarFox (also known as Lylat Wars), leading up to the destruction of the planet known as Cerinia. While the reported destruction of Cerinia is an official event in the StarFox universe, the events mentioned in this story are not and therefore should not be considered in any way, shape, or form to be canonical to the StarFox universe. I do not claim ownership of any kind. All rights go to their respective owners.

With that said, enjoy the fan fiction.

Chapter One: Destiny

Deep in space, far beyond the realm of the Lylat System, there was a planet. From lush blue oceans to azure colored mountains to dense emerald leafed forests and red deserts, yes, this planet was a work of true beauty. And this planet was known as Cerinia by her inhabitants, the Lupis and the Vulpis.

This planet held a powerful spirit housed in a golden staff of unknown origin. It was believed that Cerinia herself was alive and that it had created the artifact. And thus, they worshipped the staff in the temple on a mountain top, large and grey and also of unknown origin.

And yet, a select few could hear voices coming from the temple. Whispers of a protector chosen to defend Cerinia from forces outside of their world. The people who could hear the voices were ordained as sages. The temple drew them toward it with supernatural force, as though they wanted to just live there and stay.

And stay they did...

The voices of the temple began to speak to them about the protector and that one of the sages was he. He alone could wield the Staff of Cerinia. He alone could defend Cerinia from these foreign forces that would do her harm.

The sages asked the voices who it would be and the voices complied. The voices spoke of a male Vulpis named Kranin. As they spoke it, a womanly visage began to form as if from nowhere. Mystically, it glided over to Kranin, who was now terrified for his life.

The spectre picked up the Staff of Cerinia and handed it to him, naming him the Protector. The spectre spoke only to Kranin for a time, discussing his fate and how much time he had before he needed to face the evils. It spoke of powerful magic in the staff and its unnatural properties. It spoke of it's unbreakability and it's power to enhance the wielder's mind.

Kranin accepted the Staff of Cerinia, and thus accepted the duties therein. The spectre vanished, opening two doors which had never been seen. One lead to a library and archives, filled with numerous books both filled and empty. The other lead to an area outside, with an obstacle course and fighting ring.

And so Kranin trained. He trained until the very day he was expected to fight. With all of the magics he had learned and all of the physical training he had endured, he felt more than ready.

The battle itself was intense. From the very sky itself, it rained with fire and lightning. Explosions littered the ground as spirits wreaked havoc on the planet. After a ferocious battle, Kranin managed to defeat them, killing the last spirit.

Kranin went down in history as Cerinia's greatest defender. He started a school to teach others the magics he had learned. After his death, a ceremony would occur every twenty years. This ceremony would honor him with the sages lending the temple's most talented student the staff.

Two thousand years had passed and the small village near the peak of the mountain had turned into the outer rim of a massive city with buildings that practically touched the sky. Vehicles and airships could be seen commuting around and in the giant.

Truly, it was an tech heavy age. People were using their holographic smart phones and going to and from their designated jobs, oblivious of much else other than what time it was and how traffic is. But they still had not forgotten about the Ceremony of Kranin, their biggest event every twenty years.

They were still grateful of what Kranin had done and always came to the temple at the peak to see who was chosen every time. And this year was the year it happened again. They would leave their glass and concrete walls high in the sky and travel to the old temple of stone, eager to see who would "Defend" them.

Of course this was all just for show. The staff itself seemed to be dormant after Kranin's death. This did not dissuade students from being so passionate about the art. Many of them studied so hard in hopes that they may unlock its power yet again...

Among these student's was Valin, a red wolf of no remarkable features save for the marking on his face, below his left eye, with a half circle surrounded by two dots and above a vertical line, and red bangs that covered his forehead. He had been studying for more than fifteen years to obtain the staff. The ceremony would be happening in a couple of days. Randorn had been chosen this time to choose a winner. All this excited Valin as he was Randorn's top student and was on good terms with him to boot.

He looked to see the city from his window, his topaz eyes filled with wonder about the outside. For eighteen years he had been here in this temple. Ever since he was three he knew only of the temple, it's rooms, it's teachings... it's secrets. Seeing the city was a dream of his as much as the staff was. Student's could leave once they had graduated. He would be graduating soon but the ceremony was the real treat.

He scratched his light brown chin and adjusted his yellow cloak. He began to survey his room, circular and messy with many texts and scrolls surrounding his bed. Every single scroll and book had to do with either magic or sword arts. By the east window sat his bed and his desk that he was sitting at. It was quite small for a room, but he had earned it by being so studious. Everyone else had to share with a roommate, something he always considered to be very distracting.

He looked at the big portrait of his mother and father, they had died at a young point in his life. Jackals... ruthless warriors dwelling in the nearby forest at the foot of the mountain. Early in his life, he wanted revenge on them. But Randorn took him under his wing, teaching him that revenge was a double edged sword: while once side faces your foe, another, equally as deadly one, faces you. To enact such a thing was to risk losing yourself.

Staring at his mother, he quickly saw where his eyes came from. She had such a beautiful face, with her narrow snout and big eyes and long flowing red hair. His father was where he got his chin. His father had a small mustache and huge lower jaw, making him appear regal, all the more accentuated with his purplish skin. Such a tragedy to have lost them so young. He focused on something else instead of dwelling anymore. He began to think of the staff again.

Yes, he felt that he was the one that was going to receive it. It was the very reason he studied so meticulously, so diligently. Many of his friends considered him to be quite the nerd for it but, in the end, no one could argue the results. He was literally top of the line in nearly all fields. Some even argued he was more powerful than some of the sages they studied under. Indeed he was the go to guy if someone needed help with a spell. He hoped that, for these reasons, he could unlock the staff's power again.

However, Randorn had two children that Valin may need to prove worthy over. The first was his son, Sabre. Sabre was an excellent swordsman but when it came to magic, he lacked much of it. No, the one he needed to worry about was Krystal, Randorn's adopted daughter. She definitely showed prowess in the magical arts. But she had nowhere near the experience he had, being that she had only studied for six years.

He shrugged and began going back to his studies. There was no way that blue vixen was going to get the staff this ceremony.

"I'd eat my own tail if that happened." he laughed to himself...

...

In an open circular arena surround by pillars, Krystal was outside training with Sabre as Randorn watched from his office balcony. Hard to believe that she had shown so much progress in only six years of training. It almost felt like she was born to learn magic.

He surveyed the area: red pillars about twenty feet high, an arena circular in shape and about thirty feet wide, and a patch of dirt over in the northeast corner of the area. Bushes with blue roses surrounding the arena gracefully were blowing in the wind.

And, of course, a blue vixen on the left with white markings and thin white furred stomach. She wore a white cloth around her breast, and a matching loin cloth over her waist. Her armor consisted of two pauldrons, two bracers and two shin guards and sandals, all with ornate patterns embedded into them. In her hands was a wooden staff of no remarkable features. Krystal was definitely a thing of beauty. Her training had made her in perfect condition, with a nice hourglass shape and thick strong legs, behind which was a bushy blue tail that was tied in two areas. One near the top and the other near the bottom to give off a sectioned look.

But most of her beauty was in her face. She had big and beautiful light blue eyes and a narrow snout. Her face was almost all white save for her blue forehead and cheeks. Blue bangs hid some of her beauty as if to say she was too gorgeous to be seen fully. This hair extended to the back of her head and behind her big, blue ears. And to top it all off, she had gold tiara with a red shining gem right on her forehead.

Randorn was proud to have such a stunning daughter. Then he looked to the right.

Sabre was definitely a handsome brown wolf. With his muscular physique and piercing gray eyes, his presence demanded respect. He had a more broad jaw than most other wolves, with his muzzle covered in white fur. He was a good few inches taller than Krystal, who was already five feet. Very tall for a Cerinian. He was gigantic! Randorn let a smile crease his face as he took pride in his son's stature. He had short hair and a slightly shorter brown tail than most wolves.

He was wearing a heavy duty green tunic with a leather pauldron on his left and a leather gauntlets over his hands and forearms. For his legs he wore brown pants and thick, black leather boots. In his hand was a wooden sword.

Sabre swung left with the wooden sword and Krystal blocked with her staff, retaliating with a large overhead strike. Sabre was too quick for a swing like that to be any threat, and he dodged it effortlessly. With all his weight behind him, he went for a thrust. Krystal avoided, but that was what Sabre had intended.

He sweep kicked her off her feet. She hit the ground with a thud and Sabre pounced, sword pointed at her. Krystal rolled away, barely evading the attack. She got to her feet and locked eyes on Sabre.

He was so well known for being very competitive. She liked that about him though. He would make an excellent soldier one day. And not to mention training with him meant that she must be on her toes at all times.

"Good, Krystal. But that was careless of you to not anticipate an attack like that." he smiled at her.

Krystal shrugged. "It was highly unorthodox."

Sabre laughed. "Still got you though."

"True enough." she smiled.

Sabre began closing the distance between them aggressively. Krystal replied by being evasive. Although she was not doing so out of cowardice. Sabre had been trying to corner her into a cramped area to prevent her from using her staff as much. She was moving toward an open environment.

Sabre took notice and began moving between her and field. She ran for it, with Sabre meeting her by swinging his sword. Krystal ducked and struck him with a jab, rolled around him and struck him in the side with the staff. Attempting to strike again, she was stunned to see Sabre block her attack, spin to her side and get up close and personal.

Her staff would not help her here, he was too close. She jumped back and tried to swing but to no avail. Sabre pushed his advance. She thought of something quickly and used her magic to shove him back.

He was sent flying backwards, recovering by rolling when he hit the ground.

"Hey!" he yelled, "No fair! No magic!" he laughed jokingly. To him this was just how things went. A real fight was anything but just an exchange of blows. It was about getting the advantage any way possible. And, to be honest, that was what he liked.

He used his little amount of magic to counter hers as he rushed again. She swung the staff at him, smacking his face. Sabre did not stop though. He struck her thigh, knocked her down and finally struck her stomach. It was over. Sabre had won.

"Enough!" Randorn said loudly. "Sabre has won. Good job, son. And good job today, Krystal."

Sabre looked proud. "I aim to please, father."

"Thank you, father." said Krystal.

Sabre turned to Krystal and helped her up. "You did good today, Krystal. Last week you couldn't even land a single blow on me and now you hit me with four if you include that little stunt." he laughed.

Krystal smiled as she got to her feet. "Well, I got a little scared at the end there."

"Whatever works." Sabre responded. He went to put the sword away. "In a fight, you have to use all of your abilities. Else wise, you are just giving the opponent another advantage." He looked back at her. "Never let that happen, sis."

"I won't, big brother." Krystal said. She looked at the grey wolfs back, filled with dirt from where he had hit the ground, covering up its dark green color. "You seriously need to work on your magic, though. That was a basic pushing spell."

Sabre laughed. "I will get to work on that." he began heading for the dorms. "Although I never really got how we have magic in the first place. Never made much sense to me."

Krystal scoffed. "Really? If you paid more attention in class and less on fighting, you'd know it's because of Cerinia's spiritual energy. Anywhere else and it would be hard to be able to perform these arts. We need her in order to use them."

Sabre chuckled. "Chill out, sis. Not everyone is a bookworm like you and Valin. Besides, that is all the more reason to actually learn how to fight without it. Being reliant on something is never good."

"Says the guy with the sword." she smirked.

"At least I can take my sword off this world if I wish." he retorted as he left.

Krystal was silent. He had a point. Sabre never really was much of an intelligent being when it came to the arts. But his advice and logic was still spot on. But that still did not excuse his lack of knowledge of their own home...

...

Valin finished his studies and began heading to Randorn's office. Randorn had sent someone to summon him there. What could it possibly be? Was he actually going to be the one chosen to wield Cerinia's most powerful artifact? His eyes shined at the thought of it.

He hurriedly visited the quarters, passing by Krystal without noticing her. He came upon the door to Randorn's office and entered.

The room was circular with a huge sigil at the center of the floor with four triangles and a swirl. It glowed a faint white. Books were scattered all over the place. A huge desk rested at the other end of the room, with Randorn staring through the window behind it.

Happily, Valin began to talk.

"You summoned me, Master Randorn?"

The intimidatingly huge gray wolf turned to the smaller red wolf. He was smiling.

"Valin..." he began, "I have been deep inside the temple and the Voices have spoken to me."

Valin's ears perked. In over two thousand years, no one had heard the Voices. This had to be big news.

"Clearly something of dire importance, sir." he said.

Randorn turned to the window again.

"Indeed it is." Randorn paused. "They have informed me of whom the Staff must go to."

Valin grew even more curious, anxious to find out who it would be.

"And?" Valin asked eagerly.

Randorn beamed with a smile. "The staff will be going to..."

Valin grew more and more excited. It was happening!

"...Krystal." Randorn finished.

Valin's heart dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Krystal?!" he exclaimed.

"Yes! And you are going to be her Mentor! Isn't this exciting?!" Randorn was too proud of Krystal to notice Valin's disappointed expression.

Valin quickly masked his anger and began smiling widely. "Of course it is, sir! But-" he began. "Isn't she a little young? I mean she is only sixteen years of age."

Randorn quickly got a hold of his excitement. "Indeed. But that is why the Voices have told me to have you teach her. You know so much about the staff and the magics of Cerinia. You would be a perfect teacher for her. Your destiny is to fill my role as a sage."

Valin shook his head. Well at least there is that, he thought to himself.

No.

No. He would not accept anything less than the staff.

"But my knowledge of the staff is unparalleled by any student and my magics are also top of the class. Would it not make more sense for someone as I to recieve the staff?" he slyly asked.

"If the Voices had not contacted me..." Randorn responded. "Yes, I would have chosen you. But it is now out of my hands, sadly. I know how much you wanted the staff, Valin." He looked down at the sigil. "But we cannot have everything we desire in life. You will at least be getting a position among us sages." he smiled. "Isn't that something?"

Valin weakly smiled back. "Indeed it is, sir. I am honored deeply."

"Your training starts tomorrow. We will be having a glorious celebration for your coronation as a sage tonight." Randorn excitedly said.

Valin bowed to him. "Then I shall go and get ready for it. I bid you farewell, Randorn, sir."

"No more need to call me that anymore. As of now, we are equals, Valin." he chuckled.

"Of course, Randorn." Valin said as he began to leave the room.

"Valin!" Randorn said loudly.

Valin turned to Randorn, weakly curious of what he had to say.

Randorn began to talk again. "I know how much you wanted that staff. But it is best not to dwell on those things. The Voices have told me that your sagehood would change the fate of Cerinia herself. Be glad that you will be going down in history as someone so great."

Valin forced a smile. "Thank you, sir." he said as he turned and left.

He headed back to his room and slammed the wooden and cast iron door shut. Krystal was going to recieve the Staff? She most likely had no idea of the powers it was said to contain, he thought to himself, let alone wield!

In his mind, no one was more worthy than himself. He had top grades in his classes, the highest potential rating in the art of magic, exceptional swordsmanship and all around was better at everything than anyone. To not recieve the staff was a slap to the face by Cerinia herself.

But what was this about him mentoring Krystal? The Voices acknowledge he is better at the magic arts so much that he was destined to teach her?

All the more reason why I should have it! He thought to himself. Even if it came to it, he would ki-...

What was he thinking? Was he really going to kill over something as stupid as that? No. He was better than this.

A couple tears trickled down his eyes as he sat there ashamed of his thought. Krystal was a good person. He was not about to harm her in any way. There was no justification. This is what was meant to be. If what Randorn said was true, then destiny itself was to blame.

And destiny could not be changed. He began to think of what Randorn had said: It is not best to dwell on those things. Besides, sagehood wasn't so bad. It meant that he would have a position of high ranking official. There were many benefits of being a sage. He could go outside... HE COULD GO OUTSIDE TO THE CITY!

This elated his thoughts and he calmed down. To go outside would be an amazing experience for him.

Before he could think more on it, there was a knock on the door.

He opened it to see Krystal, holding a cup of hot tea and a biscuit. She looked concerned.

"I brought these for you." she said. "I noticed that you looked upset as you came back here."

She handed him the plate of food and he invited her in. He kept the door open as it was forbidden for a girl and boy to be in a closed room together until they had fully matured. They were not considered fully matured until they had graduated either.

He went to sit on his bed.

"Thank you." he said quietly.

"It's no problem." she said as she sat down on the desk chair. She looked around the room. Her eyebrows raised at the mess surrounding her. "So I take it you have been studying something fierce." she laughed.

Valin spoke very quietly. "Yes, I have been working on a project." he stopped a second. Girls were always something he could never get used to talking with. He was very shy. That and this was the girl he had just contemplat-

Nope. Not even going to think about it, he thought to himself. The Staff was not that important to him. Chances are he never would have unlocked it's power anyway. He began to speak a little more loudly.

"So, I heard that you managed to hit Sabre during your training session." he said in effort of starting some sort of conversation.

Krystal's ears perked up and she smiled. "Yep! Never thought I would see the day."

Valin weakly laughed. "Neither did I. I may be top of the class on nearly everything but Sabre always could one up me in a duel. That guy is something else entirely. Good job, Krystal. I think that makes you the only person other than I to even smack him."

Krystal's smile widened. "Yeah I had heard of your duels with him and how they would last for hours." she paused and looked at the painting. "You know," she continued, "you should come and hang out with us sometime. I mean, do you do anything else other than study?"

Valin pondered that question intensely. It really had been a while since he had been among friends. "Now that I think about it." he chuckled. "No, I don't, really. I-"

He was interrupted by a yellow vulpine with big ears and narrow face. It was Lindah, Krystal's roommate.

"Congrats on your soon to be sagehood, Valin!" she gleefully said. "No one has earned it more than you!"

"Sagehood?" Krystal said, puzzled.

"Yeah." Valin began. "That's what Randorn had summoned me to tell me about." He turned to Lindah. "Thank you, Lindah."

As she turned to leave, Krystal turned to Valin, face awash with awe.

"You are becoming a sage?" she said loudly.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That makes you the youngest sage in history. Now THAT is way better than anything I have done yet."

"Don't count yourself out yet." He said lowly.

"What was that, Valin?" she asked.

He cleared his throat. "Nothing, nothing." He began to laugh. "I think I will take you up on that offer and hang out with you people some time." he smiled. "For now though, I must get ready for coronation. I will see you later, Krystal."

"Alright, Valin. See you around." she smiled back.

He showed her out and closed the door. He turned and began putting on his best robes.

Sagehood wasn't going to be so bad after all, he thought...

End of Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

StarFox: Cerinia Has Fallen

by Dakota West

Disclaimer: This is a fan made story chronicling the character known as Krystal from Nintendo's popular video game series, StarFox (also known as Lylat Wars), leading up to the destruction of the planet known as Cerinia. While the reported destruction of Cerinia is an official event in the StarFox universe, the events mentioned in this story are not and therefore should not be considered in any way, shape, or form to be canonical to the StarFox universe. I do not claim ownership of any kind. All rights go to their respective owners.

With that said, enjoy the fan fiction.

Chapter Two: Coronation

"... And with that, we move on to our next top story: Top student of the Cerinian Temple, Valin Emerov, will be coronated to sagehood tonight! A surprise announcement was made only a couple of minutes ago and the Temple is opening it's gates for the public for the first time in twenty years." the news channel was buzzing throughout the city.

"Valin is the subject of a lot of talk as of right now as he is to be the youngest sage coronated in it's history at the age of twenty one. Record breaking as the next youngest sage was Randorn, who was coronated at the age of thirty six, making Valin fifteen years younger. The student's records states that he has proven to be a born natural at the magical arts and his knowledge in them is unrivaled among his classmates. He has also demonstrated exceptional combat training, being voted second best in his class next to fellow student, Sabre. Back to you, Kris..."

The news spread like wildfire among the community, from the mellow suburbs to the uproarous downtown city. A coronation to sagehood? That was a particularly rare event to witness. It was practically like seeing a prince be named king! Everyone began going on their social media networks, inviting friends with them to see this ceremony. The sound of typing on key boards and tapping of touch screens could be heard all over the city, all of which having something to do with Valin's coronation.

Valin himself became increasingly excited. He had adorned himself with a white robe. Gold silk could be seen at the edges of his hood, sleeves and at the bottom. He wore a silver necklace with a gold symbol, a spiral with four triangles pointing in all directions. His hair was slicked back and he had recently washed his red and brown fur, which gave an illustrious shine in the twilight.

Under the robe was a purple long sleeved shirt and white pants. His shoes were a light brown and made of fine leather and his hands were covered by white gloves with the same symbol as the necklace. And finally, as a sentiment to his dear parent's, he wore a mask, the Mask of the Dearly Beloved. Gold lines traced lovingly on the silver face of a Lupis, created a tear shape around the eyes.

He looked at himself from the mirror that lay on his desk. _Yes,_ he thought to himself, _this will do for the coronation._

There was a knock on the door.

As he went to open it, there was Krystal, also dressed in a manner similar to him. She was wearing a white and gold dress with many adornments on her head. She looked breath taking.

"Hello again, Valin." she said with a big smile. Valin was a tad confused as to why she was so well dressed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked politely.

"I am to escort you to where you will be named a sage. My father chose me of all people. Said it would be fitting. Whatever that means." she said, still smiling.

Valin understood what she did not but did not speak. He only nodded.

"Well," she said "let's not keep them waiting."

He closed the door behind him and followed her down the stairs. As they went from the dorms to the main hall, he could hear the thunderous sound of people talking and laughing coming from the courtyard. Too many to be just the temple dwellers.

Krystal stopped and turned to him.

"Now don't be shy... but there are a LOT of people out there." she smiled.

She opened the door. Bright spot lights blinded him for an instant followed by several flashing lights coming from all sides. He quickly deduced that these were cameras taking pictures of him.

Through it all, he noticed it: thousands of people around him. He began to get a little nervous, which Krystal took notice of. She grabbed his arm gently and laughed.

"Come on, Valin. Let's get to the temple balcony so we can get this all under wraps. These people are excited to see you become a sage."

"I know." he said as they began to walk. "I just did not expect to see so many people here. It's kinda daunting."

"No." Krystal jovially said. "Fighting Saber is daunting. Becoming a sage at your age is a daunting task. This is nothing."

She was right. He began to walk with more of a spring. Krystal took notice of this and had to adjust herself accordingly. She was escorting him after all.

As they reached the alter over at the temple balcony, there sat Randorn along with the other four sages. They stopped and Krystal took a bow before her father and quickly went to sit next to the rest of the students.

Randorn looked at Valin and began to speak.

"Valin, I have heard the voices of the temple and they have told me that your time to be a sage has come!" he gave a big grin to Valin. "Valin... for the following reasons of exceptional swordsmanship, masterful use of magic, excellent teaching for struggling students, and understanding the knowledge of this world and it's various laws and ideals, it is with great pleasure that I announce you Valin, Sage of Wisdom!"

Randorn pulled out a large amulet with a symbol of a half circle with two dots surrounding it above a straight line. Valin kneeled to one knee. Randorn then placed the amulet over Valin's head and set it around his neck gently.

"So rise, Valin. And be known among us as Sage of Wisdom!"

A great weight nearly prevented him from rising back up. But, with great effort, he got back to his feet. Thunderous applause was heard and he felt a sense of relief. It was over. He could go back n-

"And now, of course, we FEAST! We have prepared a mighty dinner for this event. Even on such short notice, our cooks have done their best to give us quality food for this special event! Come everyone! To the dining hall!" Randorn bellowed.

Another thunderous applause was heard as the students surrounded Valin and carried him to the dining hall.

...

Krystal and Saber sat next to the other students adjacent to Valin, who was at the very front of the dining hall with the other sages. He seemed to be discussing something with them. His mask of the dearly beloved was off.

Saber spoke. "I wonder what they are talking about."

"Probably how to better teach us or some crap like that." Lindah laughed.

"I don't know." Krystal said, "From what I have heard, they actually talk about things like the future and where the world is heading. It is odd that they would name Valin a sage so young. Perhaps there's more to it than that."

"Bah! Whatever! Nice guy and all but Valin always had a sense of awkwardness about him!" Saber said.

"Agreed." Lindah replied. "He always kept to his books and all that. He never came out and hung out with any classmates unless it was in a classroom, learning a subject."

"I think that just shows how genuine he is about his passion." Krystal said. "His awkwardness comes off as sweet. I think he just needs some people to help him get out of his room more often."

Saber laughed. "Are you suggesting us?"

Krystal frowned. "Yes, actually. There a problem with that?"

Saber turned and took a huge bite out of his steak. "Yeah." he said, mouth still full. "The guy is a total stiff. Sure, he can fight and knows a lot of magic. But have you ever really had a discussion with him? He only ever talks about that stuff. I enjoy our temple as much as the next person but damn he needs another hobby."

Krystal continued to frown. "Precisely why we should help him with that."

Lindah finally spoke again. "I think Krystal is right. Valin would be a cool person to hang out with a lot if he just had some people like us."

Saber scoffed. "Alright fine! You guys do what you want."

Lindah edged a little closer to Saber. "What's this 'you guys' thing all about?"

Saber blushed. "I don't really care about getting to know the guy that much."

Lindah edged a little closer. "Come on, Saber. Do it for me, please?"

Saber blushed even more. Her muzzle was almost touching his. She had these pleading eyes and all that begging nonsense going on.

"D'oh, alright!" He finally said.

Lindah scooted back to her seat with a silent yay.

Krystal looked bewildered. She was not sure what she just saw. Did Lindah just flirt with her brother? She chuckled to herself.

Over in the back ground, someone yelled for Valin to do a speech, which was soon met with more people.

Krystal looked at Valin. Clear across the other side of the table, four hundred feet away from her, she could see his nervous expression. Randorn gave him a pat on the pack. But that didn't comfort him much, it seemed.

He slowly rose from his seat. He was handed a micro phone. Krystal would never forget the look of fear in his eyes. He began to stammer.

"I-I want to- to thank you all for c-coming." He began. "I- I have been living in this temple for almost eighteen years a- and these have all been wonderful years for me. Wi-" he stopped.

"I-" he began again, "I have met a lot of students in the time being here. Many of whom I have grown to be rather fond of." He looked around. "I-..."

Something was wrong and Krystal could feel it. She had a knack for this extrasensory perception.

Valin tried to speak once more. "I hope to be..." he stopped again. "I... I..."

He suddenly began running out of the room, his face covered by his sleeves.

"Well, damn." Saber said. "I did not expect that."

Randorn picked up the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he boomed. "Pay him no mind. He's just shy is all. This is all a very new experience for him! Anyway thank you very much for participating in this rather historical event and the door is that way when you have finished eating! Good night everyone!" he said as he began to head in the direction of Valin.

Krystal rose out of her chair and was just starting to make her way to the dorms to see what was wrong when Lindah and Saber grabbed her hands.

"What are you doing? Let me go." she said.

"Trust me, Krystal, it's best if you let Randorn handle this. I'm sure Valin does not want anyone seeing him in tears right now." Saber said.

"What are you talking about?" she said harshly.

"I'm a guy, trust me on this. We never want to show weakness to anyone." he said sternly.

She broke free of their grasp and began heading in that direction, ignoring the waits and don'ts coming from behind her.

She went to the hall and got to the stairs where she could hear Valin and Randorn talking.

"What did you expect to happen, Randorn?!"

"I expected you to just say thank you to everyone and say that you hope to make them proud or something like that and then sit your blooming ass back down!"

"That was so embarrassing! I must look like a damned fool!"

"Valin, don't worry about it. I screwed up big time on my first speech. It happens, my boy. You get used to it after a while."

"Well what do we do now?"

"Tomorrow we will be have the staff ceremony and-"

"I know!" There was a pause. "I know..."

"Get a speech prepared for her and when you hand her the staff, give that speech to her too."

"Okay..."

"I am gonna go back to eating my dinner now, if you want I will have one of the servants come and bring yours up here."

"Thanks..."

Krystal hid behind a tapestry as Randorn came out of the room and went down the stairs. So it was a girl that was getting the staff tomorrow? And Valin was to give it to them personally? Neat information to find out but she had more pressing things to attend to.

She slowly came up to the room. Valin was whispering to himself about something. It sounded like a speech. Something for whoever was recieving the staff tomorrow, most likely.

"Hey." she broke the silence. Valin nearly jumped ten feet in the air. She had really startled him.

"Krystal..." he said softly. "How long have you been there?"

"I just got up here. I wanted to see how you were doing."

He recollected himself and tried to look as aloof as possible. "I am fine." he finally said after nearly a minute of silence. "You should go eat and be among your friends. I really have other things to attend to right now."

"I was wondering if you wanted to come back down with me and be hang out with us." she said as gently as she could, trying not to make feel anymore uncomfortable.

He began to stammer. "I- I- I'd really like to but, this really isn't the best time for me to be hanging around with other students right now. I really do have to get on to something urgent. Randorn was up here and gave me my first task as a newly appointed sage and all."

Krystal walked over closer to him. "I see. Well, my friends and I will be down over by the courtyard after everything is said and done. Maybe when you are finished we can hang out then?" She smiled. "It's a weekend night anyway."

Valin stared at his mirror. Then he stared back at her.

"Very well." he said. "When I am done preparing for the task I have been given for tomorrow, I will come down and meet with you guys."

Krystal beamed up with happiness. "Great! We will see you then!"

As she was making her way for the exit she turned to him again. "And by the way," she spoke, "I think you are going to be a great sage."

With that, she left. Valin began to think about what a kind girl she had always been. She was far more polite than most. Not that he had a real issue with other people, but she just seemed so genuinely likable. With those thoughts running in his head he began preparing a speech for her. Hopefully he would not botch this one up.

End of Chapter 2


End file.
